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Global Liberation Army
Introduction The 'Global Liberation Army '(جيش التحرير العالمي (Jaysh al-Tahrir al-Alami)), also known as GLA, is a violent non-state actor that is also one of the most successful terrorist factions in the world. In Contra, the GLA reappeared after ten years of slumber and was responsible for the countless terrorist attacks in many countries. The GLA is considered as the "Antagonist Faction" against both the USA and China. History Mysterious Origins U.S. Intelligence traced the origins of the GLA back to the first decade of the 21st century, to the string of terrorist attacks masterminded by several major figures in the Middle East, including Rodall Juhziz and Prince Kassad, who would later become leaders of the GLA. However, the GLA's origins remain unknown. Some CIA officials concluded that the wars waged by the USA after the 911 Terrorist Attack such as the Invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan triggered Anti-Western resentment among the invaded countries. But some political analysts suggested the rising influence of both the USA and China on the Middle East countries have caused severe economic inequality within these nations, making the civilians more likely to be persuaded to join the GLA. Beginning of Humanity's Worst Nightmare In 2013, the GLA made major news when they began to infiltrate Western China. There, the GLA began to build popular support for a secessionist movement. The uneasy confrontation in China exploded into a full-scale conflict when GLA military units suddenly attacked the Yecheng Military Depot. They stole thousands of rounds of ammunition before destroying a nearby nuclear reactor, contaminating large areas of China with dangerous levels of radiation, understandably incurring the fury of the Chinese government. Insisting on dealing with the GLA themselves, China refused to allow UN monitors into the country or any UN attempt to negotiate with the GLA. Although the United States provided satellite surveillance upon GLA and Chinese troop movements, it refused any further commitment. The GLA is known to be highly decentralized. This is one of the reasons the UN attempts at negotiation have failed so miserably. Their leaders are scattered across many countries and divided themselves into different factions. At times, with a skilled and strong leader at the head, the GLA is capable of operating as a somewhat cohesive entity. With the absence of an effective leader, however, infighting is not uncommon. Relations between GLA factions is thus a complex web of alliances, deals, betrayals and power struggles. The true motives The goals and motives of the GLA are, even now, unclear, such is the secretive nature of the organization. Their ideology can be summarized as aggressive pseudo-religious populist anti-imperialism. The GLA is seemingly opposed to anything they deem exploitative, imperialist or immoral, whatever they are. The GLA is opposed to the superpowers having any involvement in the affairs of lesser nations, as they perceive their involvement (including humanitarian support) as neo-colonialist acts. GLA leaders have referred to the Americans and the Chinese as the 'scourge of humanity', characterizing China as 'The Dragon', the USA as 'The Killer Falcon' and even referring to their enemies as 'infidels'. For example, General Mohmar used to refer to the formerly rogue Prince Kassad and his forces as 'infidels'. However, it is still unclear whether or not they are influenced by Islamic Extremism, since they never act like such radicals. The aspiring freedom fighters and desperate fanatics who made up its ranks often truly believed they are standing up for the downtrodden peoples of the world, in spite of the fact that they often kill civilians who get in their way. During its existence, the GLA succeeded in inspiring a great fanaticism among its considerable number of followers, to the point where many were willing to kill themselves for the cause. The GLA managed to gain the support of many of the world's disenfranchised peoples. Its splinter cells are scattered around the world. In certain areas, the GLA even acts as the de-facto government (as was the situation in Mogadishu, Somalia). The GLA also used the media to spread their propaganda - ARC News is allegedly funded by the GLA or one of their backers, and it is through this channel that the GLA leadership issues official statements. No one would know that the organization would became Humanity's worst nightmare... Generals & Zero Hour Timeline (First War against the GLA) Around 2013, the true extent of the GLA's power became clear. They seized several major cities in Asia, including Baghdad. Their forces also moved into the countryside and operated major terrorist cells in Chinese and American cities. The Chinese leadership's attempts to bolster public confidence was spectacularly derailed when a GLA suicide bomb truck detonated a low-yield nuclear device in the midst of a military parade in Beijing. This action incurred the enduring wrath of the Chinese, who are now committed to the total destruction of the GLA. The Americans, meanwhile, joined the conflict to secure their own interests in the region around the same time. The USA and China fought the GLA intensely, on battlefields as far apart as Hong Kong and Adana. All factions involved suffered significant losses; the GLA bore the brunt of the massive firepower at the disposal of American and Chinese generals while striking back as best it could. Initially, Chinese forces managed to - with great difficulty - drive the GLA out of China and destroy its main base in Dushanbe, Aldastan. However, the GLA struck back, dislocating Chinese forces in Kazakhstan (burning down the capital city, Astana, in the process), even destroying the Incirlik Air Force Base in Turkey. Chinese attempts to turn GLA splinter cells against each other by sending them nuclear weapons backfired spectacularly when a loyalist force intercepted the nuclear convoy near Lenger. At the end of the GLA offensive, their forces captured the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, from where they were free to launch missiles anywhere in the world. When one of the biochemical missiles was intercepted by the American SDI system mere moments before it hit a major American city, the United States realized that the GLA became serious threat. The American Military was fully committed to the fight. A series of hard-fought battles culminated in the destruction of the GLA HQ in Akmola, Kazakhstan. The GLA, although much weakened by the American offensive, was still in control of the Baikonur launch facility. When it looked like they were going to be quickly defeated following the destruction of their main base in Akmola, another bio rocket was prepared and launched against an American Naval Base in Europe. Their moment of glory did not last long, as the Americans launched a second offensive. American forces leveled Baikonur, and proceeded to wipe out what they perceived to be the GLA's leadership (notably Dr. Thrax). However, the GLA soon regrouped once again under a new leader, Mohmar 'Deathstrike', and quickly decided to strike back at the US, first by destroying their fleet in the Mediterranean Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Reagan, and then by infiltrating the US mainland and stealing chemical weapons. Appalled by this, United States officials pulled back their military presence in Europe to strengthen homeland defense. Seizing the opportunity to strike, the GLA invaded Europe, taking the main US base in Germany while US forces were still pulling out. The rest of the world was shocked to see the world's greatest superpower suffer such a defeat. China, with its own borders secured and its confidence and vigor higher than ever, intervened again. The use of Chinese weaponry against the USA during the GLA campaign in Europe harmed China's reputation and the new Chinese offensive was aimed at restoring that reputation and show the world China is committed to keeping the global peace. With the use of nuclear weaponry, mass numbers and overwhelming firepower, the GLA has finally been defeated in Europe, capturing most of the GLA leaders and reclaiming US bases in Germany. China, having replaced the humiliated United States as the world's foremost superpower, established the Eurasian Unity League to guard against any future GLA threat. Captured GLA leaders were tried by the UN's International Criminal Court and condemned to life imprisonment. Contra Timeline (Second War against the GLA) However, as the GLA has lots of tunnel networks, it is still thriving underground. Worse, all of the most important GLA generals are actually still alive and kicking. They disguise themselves as ordinary citizens in many countries (Dr Thrax as a chemistry teacher in India and Kassad as an ordinary citizen in France and England). With patience and thanks to Dr Thrax's secret fundings, the GLA resurfaced in 2023 and successfully conquered a lot of territory, including Jerusalem, conquered by the freshly promoted General Huchum. They also launched an Elbrus missile against an US military base to show the world that they are a force that shouldn't be taken lightly. Now, they are still fighting for their cause... Current Internal Affairs (Contra Timeline) Rise of a new Empire The GLA's internal affairs and domestic policy are shrouded in mystery outside GLA territory. However, information by GLA dissidents and prisoners of war gives some information about their "government". GLA territories are said to be "at least in the early 2010s", where people are still having low life quality compared to other sovereign Third World Countries that developed under China's One Belt One Road Policy. Oddly enough, despite the GLA being ruthless in terms of killings, it cares for its supporters just like its agenda of standing for the downtrodden by redeveloping newly conquered areas as soon as the area is captured. They rebuild destroyed structures with their bare hands and crude tools so that the people would have a least have their current houses as shelter. People are still using outdated transport means such as bicycles, motorcycles, scooters and second-hand cars as many of the vehicles are used by the GLA Military (there are some buses as public transport). GLA territories are divided into "zones" and are governed by a general or a warlord. These "de-facto City States" provide economic income for the GLA as well as resources for GLA military and other purposes (Thrax's base is the GLA's main chemicals production and biological research site; Juzhiz's base produces explosives for the GLA; Kassad's lair is a stealth material producer, where secret files or operation plannings are located; Huchum's base serves as the main scrap metal market and heavy armor manufacturing site; Deathstrike's city is the "capital city" of the GLA, which has power over other "city states" and has the most developed infrastructure of all GLA territory). In terms of crime punishment, those who are caught red-handed receive severe punishments without trial like beatings and imprisonment (thieves get their hand chopped off). The most heinous crimes such as rape or murder are punished by death. They still use the internet (they need recruits from foreign countries too, furthermore they can't build a powerful firewall like China). However, the internet is said to be quite slow as they are using 3G or 4G connections adding to the fact the useable ISPs are low in number. The GLA also provides jobs for all people such as workers, engineers, scientists and other Middle Skill Jobs for all the citizens in their military/political sector with a monthly salary of $1000-$2000 under the term that they must be loyal to the GLA. Most of the people living under GLA juridiction live with an average revenue of 300 USD per month, most of them take jobs as construction workers, shopkeepers, food hawkers, factory workers, grocery store owners (those who are lucky) and soldiers (rebels). The strangest thing however is that the GLA gives everyone freedom of religion: all people can choose whatever deity they want to worship without any interference from the GLA authorities. Current internal problems Despite the fact that the GLA did some good deeds for its countries, its evil outweighs it. The GLA is said to be forcing many young, able-bodied men to work as workers in the frontlines (they do not force the disabled). Many Rebels are stationed in all GLA territories to act as law enforcers, but they often abuse their position by doing heinous acts such as improperly checking a woman, taking the chance to "collect taxes" which is in fact stealing money forcefully from vendors, firing their weapons at the sky as a warning to "traitors" as they are not tied to any regulation by the GLA. In Huchum's case, a small number of them voluntarily formed a "Sharia Police" that enforces the Sharia Law in some of the remote places in Jerusalem without the GLA's (and most probably without Huchum's) approval. Although the GLA does not conduct widespread censorship over its territory, it does have secret social media accounts to "spy" on the citizens so they would not betray the organization. They also have some laws on their citizen's internet usage such as not exposing what place they are living in and not criticizing the GLA or whistleblowing anything about the GLA. The GLA claims to be liberating oppressed peoples from imperialists. In reality, civilians are often the victims of GLA aggression. In fact, collateral damage was of little concern to GLA commanders as they believed in the absolute righteousness of their cause. Civilians receiving UN foreign aid were dismissed as 'sheep' to be killed if necessary. When the GLA attacked or took control of an area, civilians would almost certainly be caught up in the fighting. The GLA also committed atrocities such as testing biological weapons on civilian populations deemed sympathetic to its enemies (Thrax's HQ is said to have the nearby town turned into a ghost town because of this). In short, civilian casualties are considered necessary to sacrifice for the noble cause. Traitors to the GLA are not taken kindly either, a splinter cell that defected to the Chinese was wiped out using their very own weapons their new allies (stolen by the original GLA) had provided them with. In general, the GLA will go for extreme solutions, perhaps even do the impossible to eliminate its enemies claimed as "infidels". The GLA also has a wide network of black market with other terrorist organizations in which many hazardous goods and weapons are traded, indirectly supporting other terrorist operations. The GLA is also accused by the UN to have a giant "Wife Market", where women matching criterias of feminine beauty are sold as sex slaves to the Rebels and often face physical and mental abuse. Military Doctrine and Technology The GLA military doctrine involves the use of stealth and speed as its main war tactics, as well as surprise attacks and suicide bombers. It is also known for implementing biological and chemical weaponry, notably Anthrax, in its fight against the United States and China. The GLA recruited its troops mainly from the angry, desperate, disenfranchised and disillusioned people of the Third World. They can be easily indoctrinated into the GLA's cause. There was no shortage of these recruits, and the GLA was able to build up its forces quickly to challenge its militarily-superior foes on the battlefield. The typical GLA infantry is armed with cheap weapons and often has little training, although the GLA employed overwhelming numbers and the element of surprise to challenge and defeat its foes. Some were so fanatical to the point they strapped bombs on their own bodies and sacrificed themselves in an attack against any enemy. A visitor to a typical GLA base - if he or she managed to evade an untimely bloody death at the hands of the defenders - will find a lot of tunnels. The GLA tunnel networks are one of the wonders of modern warfare. It allows GLA units to travel quickly and in relative safety anywhere where there is a tunnel entrance, and also serves as an arms depot and field hospital. If a GLA structure is leveled, it will soon be rebuilt provided the tunnel entrance ("GLA Hole") beneath it is not destroyed. GLA military structures also require no outside power to operate - unlike most American and Chinese military structures, meaning the only things limiting GLA bases are terrain and funds, but whenever a GLA general captures a Cold Fusion Reactor or a Nuclear Reactor (or captures a Dozer), his/her build time is reduced by 50%. The GLA "recruits" civilians to build structures and base defenses and carry supplies for its armies. They are cheap and quickly replaceable if they fall in battle. In general, GLA units are cheap and quick to build. Their vehicles are assembled with whatever spare parts the Arms Dealer happens to have at hand. This however means GLA vehicles often lack the firepower or armor their American and Chinese counterparts possess. The GLA partly made up for this by scavenging parts from wrecks on the battlefield to upgrade some of their own vehicles (namely the Technical truck, Quad Cannon, Marauder Tank and the Scorpion rocket for the Scorpion Tanks). GLA commanders can also purchase extra upgrades off the Black Market. When fully upgraded, a GLA force can be quite powerful on the battlefield. Whatever weakness the GLA cannot compensate by upgrades, it does so with tactics. The GLA excels at guerrilla warfare, especially hit-and-run tactics, as its forces are highly mobile. it also employs ambushes, disguises and traps. Camouflaged rebels may attack out of nowhere, skilled vehicle hijackers may suddenly appear, a hidden roadside Demo Trap may suddenly detonate, and a friendly Crusader Tank may turn out to be a GLA Bomb Truck. GLA workers may even dig tunnels deep inside an enemy's base and conduct a surprise attack. If given the opportunity, GLA Generals will steal and pillage any useful hardware from their superpower rivals and use it against them. The GLA will do anything and everything that is necessary to win. In Contra's timeline, the GLA has at least mastered basic technology in the early 21st century. The GLA now has various chemicals that can be used in any battle (see Thrax's Trivia Tab for more information), stolen nuclear supplies for suicide attacks, stolen technologies and even more advanced improvisation techniques. Some technologies wielded by the GLA: Soviet/Cold War Technology * Due to the fact that the GLA is somewhat lacking in the ability to create or mass produce their own military equipment, they use their abundant funding to acquire old Soviet-era or Cold War-era equipment off the Black Market. Do-It-Yourself Weaponry * The lacking in industrial powers means that every an all GLA self-created equipment must be easy to construct and maintain while maintaining its effectiveness. The most notable example is the Technical, created by simply mounting a machine gun on the back of a pick-up truck. General al Huchum's Marauder tanks and Dr Thrax's Scolopendra are prime examples of simple yet effective GLA ingenuity. Stealth Technology * Lacking the heavy firepower available to China and the United States, the GLA have to rely on insidious ambush tactics. Staying hidden from the enemies and strike at the best given opportunity. One of the most common form of stealth technology the GLA has in its possession is the GPS Scrambler, created by the guerrilla warfare expert Prince Kassad. It can jam enemy positioning systems and makes their radar unable to detect GLA units. There are also much simpler applications of stealth technology, such as camo netting or painting applied to defensive structures and in cases, vehicles. The most advanced form of stealth technology is no doubt Prince Kassad's Magnum Opus, the Hazael stealth tank, which is rumoured to be a prototype stolen from the United States. Salvaged Weaponry * The haphazard natures of GLA vehicles allows them to be easily modified on the battlefield with basic engineering knowledge. GLA generals are not known to let useful material to go to waste, and will quickly instruct their soldiers to salvage whatever that's useful from destroyed enemy vehicles. General al Huchum takes it one step further with his salvaging and recycling programs, to the point that destroying his vehicles only made it easier for General Huchum to build new ones, as salvaged parts from the battlefield were quickly used for either new vehicles or upgrading their fleet of existing ones. Spiritual Support * One of the reasons why the GLA can rally masses of people is due to its spiritual support. By spreading their propaganda to "invite" deprived people to battle to free their home countries from imperialism no matter what race and religion they are, the GLA was able to recruit seemingly endless men from various countries. This is evidenced by the liberal usage of suicide units such as Terrorists and Bomb Trucks on the battlefield. The men of the GLA are always ready to sacrifice their lives for the cause. Biological Agents * GLA's main technology is biological weapons used to further weakening its foes. Bacillus anthracis, the main cause of Anthrax and the staple bioweapon of developed nations, is widely used by the organization to poison enemy infantry without having to waste their ammunition. The pathogens are bred in dust or liquid agar-agar and can be active upon contact with human skin or exposed to room temperature. The said medium is quite acidic enough to corrode metal. Thrax is said to have a more potent strain of Anthrax dipped in pink dust/liquid agar-agar that can finish off his opponents quicker (other generals have the blue version). Cheap booby traps/Radio controlled bombs (All but more sophisticated for Juhziz) * The low technology of the GLA means that the organization has to find out new ways to counter their more advanced foes. One of them is contact fuses that will be triggered when contact is made with an object. Juhziz pushed this tactic even further by implementing the fuses on practically any unit he has and a radio control to rig his bombs for explosion. Long Range Weapons (All but more sophisticated for Kassad and Huchum) * Another tactic for GLA to outsmart their foes. The GLA's military doctrine focuses on destroying enemies from afar to avoid mass casualties. The Rocket Buggy is a prime example which always demolishes any land units far from the unit's attack range. Kassad does have a long range cannon fitted on Hazael and Huchum has the Kardakann, a super heavy tank used for artillery bombardment. * Hazardous Chemicals Production (Thrax) * Improvised Spraying System (Thrax) * Advanced Explosives (Juhziz) * Instant Trigger Switches (Juhziz) * Stolen Nuclear Weapons (Juhziz, stolen from China) * High efficiency silencers (Kassad) * 3D Holographic Printing (Kassad, stolen from USA) * Partial Mind Control (Kassad, stolen from USA) * Electronic Jamming (Kassad, same as China' counterpart) * Makeshift machinery (Huchum) * Emergency Reconstruction Methods (Huchum) * Stolen weapons (Huchum) Note: Mohmar's Technology is the hodgepodge of all GLA generals. Notable members * Dr Thrax: Toxins General * Prince Kassad: Stealth General * Rodall Juhziz: Explosives (aka Demo) General * Mahmud al Huchum: Armoured Assaults (aka Assault) General * Mohmar "Deathstrike": Supreme Commander of the GLA (unplayable; appears as Boss level enemy in Challenge mode) * Jarmen Kell: GLA's main terrain agent (hero unit) * Kanwar Khan: Comms Officer (announcer) Trivia * The group is a reference to the modern world's claimed strategic terrorist threats and is possibly inspired by the Brotherhood of Nod from the Tiberium series and the Soviet Union from the Red Alert series. Also, the GLA is a covert allusion to the public conception of Hezbollah and the GRA (centered in Iran). This is likely due to Generals being a post-9/11 game and many of the scenarios featured in it may correspond with real events that the United States encountered in its ongoing military operations in the Middle East. * Originally, the GLA was known as the African Warlords - a similar faction, outfitted with crude junk technology, albeit far more bizarre, going as far as using mutated soldiers and animals to fight. * Unintentionally, the GLA bears a resemblance to the real-life terrorist organization Islamic States (which is purely coincidental since ISIS was founded after the creation of the game): ** Both organizations heavily utilize VBIEDs (car bombs) and chemical weapons (chlorine and a low-grade sulphur mustard gas for ISIS/ISIL; anthrax, acids and toxic gases for the GLA). ** Both extensively use Technicals. ** Both have managed to acquire American military equipment. ** Both have plans to destroy a dam (the Islamic States have allegedly targeted the Haditha Dam in Iraq but have yet to destroy it). ** Both are consisted of multiple "cells" and have recruits from all over the world. ** Both seem to have large numbers of Chinese Muslim (most likely Uighur) members (The GLA was implied to have Chinese Uighur members as they're shown to have several bases in China and an antipathy towards the PLA in particular). * Some players thought the Global Liberation Army was an Islamic Terrorist Faction due to the characteristics below: **GLA's colour is green, which is Islam's colour. **Many of the GLA's buildings are shaped like a mosque.(Deathstrike's Command Centre,Black Market,Palace and Huchum's Temple has Onion Domes,a typical representation of a mosque) **GLA's emblem quite similar to some Islamic Armies' insignia.The "blades" shown in GLA's emblem also resemble the "Sword of Allah" in some Islamic-themed Flags. **The Scorpion shouts "Infidels!" in one of its quotes which is quite similar to "Kafir" used by Islamists. **Suicide Bombers, a typical representation of Islamic Terrorism. **One of the Bomb Truck's quotes sounds like the driver said "Allah". **One of the Angry Mob's quotes suspiciously saying "There is no god but Allah". **In Contra, Huchum is a Palestinian. Palestinians are mostly Muslim and oppose Israel. **A lot of GLA generals are from Middle East, speak Arabic and have an oriental skin tone. * However, many fans of the game insisted that the GLA is not Muslim at all (or a completely secular terrorist faction with people from many walks of life joining in) as EA would have faced serious backlash if they did so. Another aspect is that during their conquest of Europe, the GLA mainly targeted Germany which has pretty much no historical connections with Islam. In Contra, the GLA is more of a Anti-Imperialist/Separatist Arabic Organization with Huchum as the only possible Muslim GLA leader. As a result, TV Tropes described the GLA as "terrorists without a cause" and "Al-Quaeda with the serial numbers filed off... and these serial numbers included Islamism". * The overall popularity of the faction resulted in the GLA being recreated or appearing in mods for non-''Generals'' Command & Conquer titles, such as the Scorpion Cell in Mental Omega or in the ill-fated Red Alert 3: Paradox mod. Category:Faction